Rangel voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml ''U.S. House'' "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.]</ref>

Prior to his congressional career Rangel served as secretary of the New York State Penal Law and Code Revision Commission.[1]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Rangel is one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress.

Biography

Rangel was born in New York, New York. He earned a B.A. from New York University in 1957, and a J.D. from St. John's University in 1960.[1]

Career

Rangel was in the United States Army from 1948-1952, serving in the Korean War, returning to civilian life to enter New York University. After obtaining his degrees, Rangel worked as a lawyer in private practice. He served as assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, in 1963, counsel to speaker of the New York State Assembly in 1965, counsel to the President’s Commission to Revise the Draft Laws in 1966, and as secretary of the New York State Penal Law and Code Revision Commission.

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[5] For more information pertaining to Rangel's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[6]

National security

American response in Syria

On August 29, 2013, more than 50 HouseDemocrats signed a letter written by CaliforniaRep.Barbara Lee that called for a congressional resolution on strikes, and cautioned that the dire situation in Syria "should not draw us into an unwise war—especially without adhering to our constitutional requirements."[7][8] The letter also called on the Obama administration to work with the U.N. Security Council “to build international consensus” condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons. Rangel was one of the 50 Democrats in the House to sign the letter.[7][8]

Rangel on September 2, 2013, called the situation for the United States on Syria “embarrassing,” saying the America should not put its troops in harm’s way because of a “red line” drawn by the president.[9]

MSNBC host Mara Schiavocampo asked Rangel, “In terms of that red line, the president was clear about that a year ago. Are you concerned if there is not action once that line has been crossed, that it will send a message to the world about United States’ influence and their strength in the face of countries openly defying them?”[9]

“I love Obama and you’ll never find a truer Democrat than me,” Rangel responded, “but this whole idea of any president of the United States drawing lines saying that if any country does something that he considers wrong, that the nation is going to war, it’s unheard of, drawing a red line. So, of course, it’s embarrassing. I wish it didn’t happen. I guess Secretary [John] Kerry is even more embarrassed than me after making his emotional speech that this was urgent.”[9]

Rangel said he was glad the president realized the situation was not urgent, and he hopes the time for discussion the president is urging will have positive results.[9]

“During those discussions, I hope that other people in the international community would come forward and take this great decision off of the Congress, because we have to make it. Take it off of the Congress and provide some solution where we are not putting our kids in harm’s way to solve an international problem that we feel bounded, not by law, but because the president has drawn a red line,” Rangel said.[9]

National Defense Authorization Act

Rangel voted in opposition of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[10]

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

Rangel voted in opposition of HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[10]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Rangel voted in favor of House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[10]

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Rangel voted in support of HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[11] The bill was largely supported by Republicans but divided the Democratic Party.[10]

Economy

IRS targeting

On May 10, 2013, news broke that various branches of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had specifically targeted conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status. This began during the tea party surge in 2010. The agency was separating tax-exempt applications by searching for political terms such as "tea party" and "patriot." In June 2011, an IRS official was briefed on these transgressions and asked that this practice end. The flagging continued, however, when the criteria was changed in January 2012 to look out for groups educating on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.[12]

The targeting included allegations that tea party groups were forced to provide information not asked of other tax exempt groups. Examples of this included requests for donor information, Facebook posts, resumes and political intentions of group officials and connections to other groups.[13][14]

On May 16, IRS Commissioner Steven Miller announced his resignation. He still testified at the hearings the next day.[15]

As a result of this scandal, Republicans and many Democratic members of Congress, including Rangel, publicly called for a deeper investigation into these matters. The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on May 17 during which it was disclosed that the Obama administration was made aware of the targeting on June 4, 2012.[16]

On May 20, Senators Max Baucus and Orrin Hatch sent a written inquiry regarding the process for how the agency reviewed applications for tax exempt status. The letter also requested any correspondence between White House officials and the IRS mentioning 501(c) organizations.[17]

During the May 22 House committee hearing on the issue, Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations office, declined to answer questions citing her Fifth Amendment right.[18] The next day, May 23, Lerner was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation after Senators John McCain and Carl Levin called on IRS officials to place her on suspension.[19] Lerner retired on September 23, 2013.[20]

Farm Bill

Rangel voted against the July 11, 2013 Farm Bill. The bill passed in a 216-208 vote.[21] The bill passed included farm policy, but did not include food stamps.[22]

King Amendment

Rangel signed a letter sent to Collin Peterson in August 2013, asking him to keep Steve King's amendment out of the final Farm Bill.[23] The "Protect Interstate Commerce Act" amendment prevents states from applying their own laws on agricultural products to agricultural products from another state.[24]. King introduced the amendment in response to a law in California, requiring a larger size cage for egg-producing chickens. King represents Iowa, which is a large egg producer.

Immigration

Morton Memos Enforcement Prohibition

Rangel voted against House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[25] The vote largely followed party lines.[26]

Healthcare

Repealing Obamacare

Rangel has voted against all attempts to repeal or delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[27]

Social issues

Abortion

Rangel voted against HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[28]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Rangel voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[29]

Controversy

Comments about the tea party

On August 2, 2013, Rangel compared tea party members to segregationists: "It is the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police. They didn’t care about how they looked." [30]

Ethics violations

In December 2010, Rangel received the first congressional censure by the House Ethics Committee in 27 years by a vote of 333-79. He was officially reprimanded for ethics violations that included: $500,000 of undisclosed assets and 17 years of unpaid property taxes in the Dominican Republic.[31] On April 22, 2013 Rangel filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for the censure to be overturned. The lawsuit questioned whether or not proper procedure was used in Rangel's censure investigation.[32]

Campaign themes

2012

Taxes-"I believe that if we are to strengthen our economy, we must create new, good-paying jobs. By extending enhanced expense limits for small businesses and keeping more generous depreciation rules in effect, the recovery legislation will help businesses invest in themselves, allowing them to grow and create new jobs. We also provide businesses with incentives to hire recently discharged, unemployed veterans and disconnected youth so we can reincorporate them into our communities and grow together.

Working Families-Our first priority in confronting the economic crisis was making sure that we did not leave millions of unemployed workers without adequate income to pay rent or buy groceries. I was proud to stand with my Democratic Colleagues in passing the HIRE Act to provide a payroll tax credit for companies that hire employees who have been looking for work for 60 days or more.

Affordable Housing-Affordable housing is a prioritized issue in New York's 13th Congressional District, which is mostly comprised of high-rise residential buildings. Throughout our community, tenants face an uphill battle with higher rents, fewer services, and negligence or harassment by landlords. Perhaps more importantly, the lack of affordable housing in the area presents a severe threat to our local economy. As such, I have fought to ensure that tenants and prospective New York City residents are provided with proper support needed to finance affordable housing, while strengthening the quality and accessibility of our housing market.

Social Security and Medicare-I stand firmly with President Barack Obama in opposing any efforts to privatize these programs. I reject the idea that the future of hard-working Americans should be subject to the volatility of financial markets as some Republicans have advocated. We should not cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of gutting the lifeline that helps millions of Americans to survive. I promise to continue opposing any budget proposals that undermine Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Education-I strongly believe that we must give every possible amount of support to our students, teachers and educators so that future generations of Americans will have the ability to succeed in a global economy and face the challenges of tomorrow.

Immigration-Our immigration policy should be driven by what is in the best interest of this great country and the American worker. Orderly and controlled borders, combined with an effective immigration system designed to meet our needs are important pillars of a healthy and robust economy. We need to act swiftly on immigration legislation that will improve our American workforce.

Civil Rights-As a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, ensuring equal opportunity and tolerance in our society is very important to me. I believe we should respect everybody regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality, and sexual orientation.

HIV/AIDS-I will continue to fight for those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and will work tirelessly until the day we have a cure.

Foreign Policy-I believe that as a nation we must maintain a foreign policy that ensures international security, promotes human rights and advances democratic principles worldwide. As part of the global community, we must come together to tackle major challenges that affect all of us, such as: poverty, education, public health, pollution, environment, natural disasters and the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Veterans-As a veteran of the Korean War, I understand the plight of our soldiers and am committed to ensuring that our veterans are provided the care and opportunity that they so desperately deserve and earned. I consider the G.I. bill following my service in the Korean War to be a turning point in my life. It was the G.I. Bill which transformed me from a high school dropout into a law school graduate. As such, I am committed to giving the brave servicemen and women of today the same opportunity I had to make a change. I firmly believe adequate health and medical care for our veterans are not privileges but sacred rights we must honor.

Environment-Protecting the environment is more than merely preserving nature. It is a commitment we must make to promote the health and welfare of all people. In our Manhattan Congressional District and across America, especially in urban communities like our own, the effects of poor air and water quality are of great concern and importance."

2012

Rangel ran for re-election in 2012. Because of redistricting, Rangel's territory is the new 13th district. The 2012 Democratic primary election presented Rangel's toughest challenge since he defeated the previous incumbent 42 years ago.[34] Rangel was re-elected in November.[35]

Analysts expected race to come into play, as demographic changes and redistricting meant that the traditionally black district is now majority Hispanic.[38] Rangel's foremost challenge came from Espaillat, who was born in the Dominican Republic.[38] While considered a "black politician," Rangel also has Puerto Rican heritage.[34][38]

Two other main issues were Rangel's recent ethics violations and his extensive term in office. Rangel received censure from the U.S. House in 2010 for failing to report some income.[38] And Rangel's challengers pointed out that the 82-year-old congressman has been in office for over half his life.[37][38] The incumbent also suffered health problems this past year that kept him out of Washington for significant chunks of time, raising questions about his ability to represent the district.[38] Rangel, however, dismissed these objections: "If I can support the initiatives that we started, how can I possibly sit on the sidelines?"[34]

Ballot contest

While Rangel declared victory on election night with a 6.6 percentage-point lead, his lead shrunk over the next few days as results continued to trickle in. Adriano Espaillat took back his concession and prepared to challenge the final count in court. After that final count was completed on July 7, Espaillat conceded the election for good on July 9, although he and others continue to question the Board of Elections' actions.[39][40]

As of Thursday, June 28, 2012, 94% of precincts had reported, and Rangel's lead in the Democratic primary had shrunk from 6.6 percentage points on election night to 3 percentage points. Challenger Adriano Espaillat was just over 1,000 votes behind Rangel.[41]

As of July 2, Rangel's lead had shrunk to 802 votes.[42] By July 3, Espaillat had filed court documents calling for a recount and possibly a new election.[43] The city Board of Elections had yet to finish counting all of the paper votes.[44]

On Friday, July 6, ballot counts showed Rangel with about a 1,000-vote lead.[45] Espaillat was scheduled to make a case in court on July 11,[46] saying that some ballots for him were incorrectly thrown out, or request a new election altogether.[45] Espaillat also faced pressure to choose between pursuing the 13th district race or filing for re-election to his New York State Senate seat on July 12, since New York state law forbids politicians from running for two offices simultaneously.[45]

On Saturday, July 7, the city Board of Elections finished counting all of the ballots, and Rangel beat Espaillat by 990 votes.[47] The results were not yet official, as a judge delayed certification until Espaillat could make his legal case on July 11. Espaillat planned to argue that some voters were unfairly disenfranchised.[47][46] In a press statement, Espaillat said: "A ballooned number of affidavit ballots and hundreds of calls of people that said they were turned away because they said they couldn’t find them in the books? ... No notification for a voter that there was an election. All these things amounted to a big red flag."[40]

On July 9, Espaillat conceded the race.[39] He opted not to make his case in court, saying "[W]e came up short — 2 percent... It’s virtually impossible for the results to be different."[39] He and other still had doubts about the Board of Elections' handling of the primary,[40] but he is leaving further presses to advocacy groups.[39]

Debates

June 14, 2012

On June 14, 2012, all five Democratic candidates met for a debate. Rangel and Espaillat traded some intense words, with Rangel questioning a petition drive for Espaillat that the state senator says he's not involved with. Espaillat parried by bringing up Rangel's own ethics issues. Williams urged the candidates to avoid personal attacks and focus on the issues. Schley commented that Rangel was "antiquated" and was past his political prime.[37]

Super PAC involvement

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Charles Rangel, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Faulkner (R), Craig Schley (Independence, Vote People Change) and Roger Calero (Socialist Worker) in the general election.[48]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles B. Rangelincumbent

72.4%

91,225

N/A

Blank/Scattering

10.8%

13,617

Republican

Michel J. Faulkner

9.3%

11,754

Independence, Vote People Change

Craig Schley

6.2%

7,803

Socialist Worker

Roger Calero

1.3%

1,647

Total Votes

126,046

2008

On November 4, 2008, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Edward Daniels (R), Craig Schley (Vote People Change) and Martin Koppel (Socialist Workers) in the general election.[49]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

72.3%

177,151

Republican

Edwards Daniels

6.4%

15,676

Socialist Workers

Martin Koppel

0.9%

2,141

Vote People Change

Craig Schley

1.5%

3,708

N/A

Blank/Scattering

19%

46,483

Total Votes

245,159

2006

On November 7, 2006, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Edward Daniels (R) in the general election.[50]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

80.4%

103,916

Republican

Edward Daniels

5.1%

6,592

N/A

14.5%

18,681

Total Votes

129,189

2004

On November 2, 2004, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Kenneth Jefferson (R) and Jesse Fields (I) in the general election.[51]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

73.8%

161,351

Republican

Kenneth Jefferson

5.7%

12,355

Independence

Jesse Fields

1.5%

3,345

N/A

19%

41,557

Total Votes

218,608

2002

On November 5, 2002, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jesse Fields (R) in the general election.[52]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

66.2%

84,367

Republican

Jesse Fields

8.6%

11,008

N/A

Blank/Scattering

25.1%

32,025

Total Votes

127,400

2000

On November 7, 2000, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jose Suero (R), Frank Della Valle (Conservative), Dean Loren (Green), Jessie Fields (Independence) and Scott Jeffrey (Libertarian) in the general election.[53]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

74.1%

130,161

Republican

Jose Suero

4.2%

7,346

Conservative

Frank Della Valle

0.3%

492

Green

Dean Loren

1.2%

2,134

Independence

Jessie Fields

0.6%

1,051

Libertarian

Scott Jeffrey

0.3%

480

N/A

Blank/Scattering

19.4%

34,062

Total Votes

175,726

1998

On November 3, 1998, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David Cunningham (R) and Patrick McManus (Conservative) in the general election.[54]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

62.4%

90,424

Republican

David Cunningham

22.4%

32,458

Conservative

Patrick McManus

0.7%

1,082

N/A

14.5%

20,970

Total Votes

144,934

1996

On November 5, 1996, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Edward Adams (R), Ruben Vargas (I) and Jose Suero (Right to Life) in the general election.[55]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

73.4%

113,898

Republican

Edward Adams

3.8%

5,951

Independence

Ruben Vargas

2.5%

3,896

Right to Life

Jose Suero

0.6%

989

N/A

Blank/Scattering

19.6%

30,502

Total Votes

155,236

1994

On November 8, 1994, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jose Suero (Right to Life) in the general election.[56]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 1994

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

71.7%

77,830

Right to life

Jose Suero

2.6%

2,812

N/A

Scattering

25.7%

27,960

Total Votes

108,602

1992

On November 3, 1992, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jose Suero (Conservative) and Jessie Fields (New Alliance) in the general election.[57]

U.S. House, New York District 15 General Election, 1992

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

68%

105,011

Conservative

Jose Suero

2.8%

4,345

New Alliance

Jessie Fields

0.9%

1,337

N/A

Blank/Scattering

28.3%

43,665

Total Votes

154,358

1990

On November 6, 1990, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Alvaader Frazier (New Alliance) in the general election.[58]

U.S. House, New York District 16 General Election, 1990

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

73.4%

55,882

New Alliance

Alvaader Frazier

2.1%

1,592

N/A

Blank/Scattering

24.5%

18,635

Total Votes

76,109

1988

On November 8, 1988, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Barbara Taylor (New Alliance) and Michael Liccione (Conservative) in the general election.[59]

U.S. House, New York District 16 General Election, 1988

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

97.1%

107,620

New Alliance

Barbara Taylor

1.3%

1,451

Conservative

Michael Liccione

1.6%

1,779

Total Votes

110,850

1986

On November 4, 1986, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Berns (New Alliance) and William Seraile (Conservative) in the general election.[60]

U.S. House, New York District 16 General Election, 1986

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

96.4%

61,262

New Alliance

William Seraile

1.6%

995

Conservative

Michael Berns

2%

1,288

Total Votes

63,545

1984

On November 6, 1984, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Berns (Socialist Workers) and Nan Bailey (Conservative) in the general election.[61]

U.S. House, New York District 16 General Election, 1984

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

97%

117,759

Socialist Workers

Nan Bailey

0.9%

1,098

Conservative

Michael Berns

2.1%

2,541

Total Votes

121,398

1982

On November 2, 1982, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Veronica Cruz (Socialist Workers) and Michael Berns (Conservative) in the general election.[62]

U.S. House of Representatives, New York District 16, General Election, 1982

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

97.5%

76,626

Socialist Workers

Veronica Cruz

0.9%

718

Conservative

Michael Berns

1.6%

1,261

Total Votes

78,605

1980

On November 4, 1980, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Marjorie Garvey (Socialist Workers) and Reba Williams Dixon (Conservative) in the general election.[63]

U.S. House, New York District 19 General Election, 1980

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

96.2%

84,062

Socialist Workers

Reba Williams Dixon

0.8%

692

Conservative

Marjorie Garvey

3%

2,622

Total Votes

87,376

1978

On November 7, 1978, Charles Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated E. Freeman Yearling (Socialist Worker's Party) and Kenneth Miliner (Conservative) in the general election.[64]

U.S. House, New York District 19 General Election, 1978

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles Rangelincumbent

96.4%

59,731

Socialist Worker's Party

Kenneth Miliner

1%

612

Conservative

E. Freeman Yearling

2.7%

1,648

Total Votes

61,991

1976

On November 2, 1976, Charles B. Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Benton Cole (Conservative) and Helen Halyard (Workers) in the general election.[65]

U.S. House, New York District 19 General Election, 1976

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles B. Rangelincumbent

96.5%

77,849

Conservative

Benton Cole

2.7%

2,169

Workers

Helen Halyard

0.8%

640

Total Votes

80,658

1974

On November 4, 1974, Charles B. Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Charles G. Mills IV (Conservative) in the general election.[66]

U.S. House, New York District 19 General Election, 1974

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles B. Rangelincumbent

96%

48,447

Conservative

Charles G. Mills IV

4%

2,039

Total Votes

50,486

1972

On November 7, 1972, Charles B. Rangel won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Marshal L. Dodge III (Conservative), Bobby R. Washington (Socialist Workers) and Jose Stevens (Communist) in the general election.[67]

U.S. House, New York District 19 General Election, 1972

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles B. Rangelincumbent

95.1%

84,261

Conservative

Marshal L. Dodge III

2.8%

2,517

Socialist Workers

Bobby R. Washington

1.1%

982

Communist

Jose Stevens

1%

843

Total Votes

88,603

1970

On November 3, 1970, Charles B. Rangel won election to the United States House. He defeated Bohdan J. Wasintynski (Conservative), Charles Taylor (Liberal), Paul B. Bontelle (Socialist Workers) and Jose Stevens (Communist) in the general election.[68]

U.S. House, New York District 18 General Election, 1970

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Charles B. Rangel

86.8%

52,651

Conservative

Bohdan J. Wasintynski

1.7%

1,033

Liberal

Charles Taylor

10.5%

6,385

Socialist Workers

Paul B. Bontelle

0.4%

242

Communist

Jose Stevens

0.6%

374

Total Votes

60,685

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Rangel is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Rangel raised a total of $17,123,949 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[69]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Rangel missed 2,430 of 24,532 roll call votes from Jan 1971 to Apr 2013, which is 9.9% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[77]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rangel paid his congressional staff a total of $1,164,431 in 2011. Overall, New York ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[78]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Rangel's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,125,020 to $2,525,000. That averages to $1,825,010, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House member in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth increased by 45.77% from 2010.[79]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Rangel's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $719,019 to $1,785,000. Averaging to a net worth of $1,252,009.50 which was lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[80]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Rangel tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 43rd in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[81]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Rangel tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 34th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[82]

Percentage voting with party

June 2013

Charles Rangel voted with the Democratic Party 95.5% of the time, which ranked 38th among the 201 House Democratic members as of June, 2013.

Recent news

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Personal

Rangel still resides with his wife Alma in Harlem where he was born. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.[83]